Aiea, Hawaii -- Tonight, a sellout crowd of one hundred fifty conservatives from across Hawaii converged on the Pearl Country Club for the inaugural Ronald Reagan Freedom & Liberty Dinner in honor of President Reagan's 103rd birthday today. The fundraising event was organized for the benefit of the Hawaii Republican Assembly's political superpac HIRA Action.

Former Reagan and Bush administration official Al Cardenas flew to Honolulu to provide the evening's energizing keynote address. Cardenas, who now serves as chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), leads the largest conservative political organization in the country which hosts the annual CPAC conference. He told attendees: "When things have been so bad for so long in the islands, people are willing to consider a vision and an ideology which is new to them. This is the time for conservatives to make their case and be heard."

Attending the Hawaii Republican Assembly's 'Reagan Dinner' fundraiser were dozens of political activists as well as local VIPs in the conservative movement, including GOP candidates and incumbents Cam Cavasso, Colleen Meyer, Marissa Capelouto, Sen. Sam Slom and Rep. Bob McDermott.

Tito Montes, president of the Hawaii Republican Assembly (HIRA) which organized tonight's event, remarked: "This year marks the sixtieth consecutive year that Democrats have held the majority of political offices in Hawaii politics. We believe that the standard of living for every person living in Hawaii would be much higher if conservative Republicans held the reins of power. Instead, with sixty years of one-party rule, we have high joblessness, high poverty, low paying careers, and dismal economic opportunity. Ronald Reagan's policies would put Hawaii on the best path for all generations."

Montes: "While the state's Republican Party was silent during recent legislative sessions, HIRA was organizing communities, lobbying elected officials, and advertising to influence the process. As conservatives, we refuse to be silent while so many problems plague our state and our nation."

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser described HIRA's success in attracting an A-list speaker like Al Cardenas of CPAC as a "coup". HIRA's national director Willes Lee remarked: "HIRA has been very fortunate since launching last summer. Having received the help of conservative talk radio stars Rusty Humphries and Michael Medved and now ACU's Cardenas has really put us on the map. Once Hawaii has a vibrant two-party system which delivers taxpayers their money's worth, then we'll look back on tonight with gratitude for the early support we received in presenting a new and bold conservative vision for Hawaii."